OTTAWA — When Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi laid out Ottawa’s plans to move ahead with the Trans Mountain expansion project Friday, at least one aspect of what he proposed was concrete: the Liberals’ “world class” marine protections aimed at preserving coastal waters.

Those protections are part of the $1.5-billion Oceans Protection Plan (OPP), long a lynchpin in Ottawa’s efforts to build the controversial pipeline. The sizeable investment is widely viewed as a countermeasure to Cabinet’s 2016 approval of Trans Mountain, an effort to pacify concerns about the increased marine traffic caused by the pipeline expansion and its potential effects on local killer whale populations.

A comprehensive list of investments Fisheries and Oceans Canada provided to the National Post shows roughly $800 million of the $1.5 billion planned for the OPP has already been allocated. The subjects of that spending vary widely, from new emergency towing vessels to an “interactive map” to a public “whale symposium.”

The opposition remain unconvinced the program will sway those who disapprove of the pipeline, saying the measures lack punch.

“It’s clear that despite their commitment to this two years ago, there aren’t any actual regulations in place or meaningful action,” said Shannon Stubbs, Conservative shadow critic for natural resources. Ironically, Stubbs said, in the absence of stricter regulations the Liberals “actually feed into the narratives and the efforts by the anti-energy activists who want to stop the pipeline.”

The investments include $108 million to build seven “lifeboat stations” used to aid in spill response, and another $20 million for new coastal structures in B.C. that help to assist with the navigation of ships. Ottawa also awarded a $67-million contract to lease two new emergency towing vessels under OPP, and allocated several million for “curtain booms,” sweeping systems and other tools used to clean up oil spills.

Marine safety was a key concern in a Federal Court of Appeal ruling last month that dealt a heavy blow to the now Ottawa-owned project, forcing the National Energy Board to review a portion of its consultations and halting construction. The court said the NEB “erred by unjustifiably excluding Project-related marine shipping” from its environmental report on the Trans Mountain expansion, saying the “flawed” study needed to widen its assessment.

In his announcement Friday, Sohi said he would give the NEB 22 weeks to review its decision, and said he would tout the benefits of the OPP to the regulator.

Jeff Hutchinson, commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard, said the OPP has bolstered marine safety on Canada’s three coasts.

“We can sit down at the table with any of the best emergency response organization in the world,” he said.

The coast guard is undertaking 40 new projects under the OPP, and has substantially boosted its workforce, Hutchinson said. The new projects include training programs for First Nations communities residing near the coast.

However, a large chunk of the money is set aside for research and other intangible efforts.

That includes $80 million for a research centre and “multi-partner spill response fund;” two research projects through Dalhousie University for $26 million to study “ecosystem stressors such as underwater noise;” $12 million in grants for research on B.C. killer whale populations; and a $9.3-million Government of Canada study on the environmental impacts of increased marine activity in the region. Another investment includes $57,000 for an interactive map to “help protect North Atlantic right whales.”

Pipeline opponents appear unlikely to be convinced by the measures.

“It’s all laudable, I’m sure,” said Josh Ginsberg, a member of environmental group Ecojustice. “But it’s not a substitute for assessing the dangers of the individual large projects. In particular, where we have a population of whales, a generic strategy is not going to solve that problem.”

Ecojustice filed a lawsuit Sept. 5 against the federal minister of Environment and Climate Change and the minister of Fisheries and Oceans, saying they failed to invoke an emergency order that would effectively protect southern B.C. orca populations.

The vibrations and noises given off by ocean vessels interfere with the ability of killer whales to communicate with one another and chase down prey. There are currently 74 southern resident killer whales, down from 83 less than two years ago, according to U.S.-based Center for Whale Research. The total population was 84 whales in 1980.

Some observers worry fresh delays on the pipeline expansion project could grind Ottawa’s ocean protection efforts to a hold.

“Because of the delay in Trans Mountain a lot of the projects under the marine program are on hold,” said Doug Black, an Independent Senator representing Alberta.

Ottawa took over the Trans Mountain project at the end of August, after buying the pipeline from a Houston-based company for $4.5 billion. The government is now looking to triple capacity along the line, which could cost as much as $9.3 billion, according to public filings by the previous owner.

Ottawa has not released its own cost estimate for the project.

The Oceans Protection Plan was announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in November 2016 after an accident caused thousands of litres of diesel fuel to spill into the ocean near the town of Bella Bella, B.C. The program looks to bolster marine safety along all of Canada’s three coasts, officials say.

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